MEMORANDUM

As we begin another academic year, I would like to wish all students, faculty and staff a year of personal fulfillment and success. Those returning to NJIT will see that the physical transformation of our campus is continuing, with several new buildings coming on line. If you are new to the university, I am sure that you will sense immediately that exciting developments are under way on campus.

Please join me in welcoming Tom Blake as the new dean of Newark College of Engineering, Chuck Dees as the new vice president for advancement, and congratulating Mark Somers on being named dean of the School of Management. Tom comes to us from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where his responsibilities included chairing the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Chuck served in a capacity at Seton Hall University and Fairleigh Dickson University similar to his role at NJIT, and Mark has been acting dean of the School of Management since September 2000.

This year, there are new spaces dedicated to NJIT's educational and research mission, as well as to our alumni. The recently opened East Building will house our growing biomedical engineering department and Albert Dorman Honors College. Shortly, we’ll be starting the renovation of Eberhardt Hall, the architectural icon of NJIT. This historic building, known to generations of students as the "castle," will be refurbished to accommodate alumni gatherings, offices for Alumni Relations, the Alumni Association of NJIT, University Advancement and Development, and to provide a home for an expanded program of NJIT alumni activities and events in collaboration with the Alumni Association.

You'll also find new facilities at the Campus Center for dining and the activities of student organizations. Scheduled for completion in September 2004 are an outdoor roof garden, two-story student lounge, convenience store, six-lane bowling alley and computer center. Various landscape projects are also under way as part of the master plan for the campus.

All of these changes are a visible expression of the university's commitment to enriching the overall quality of campus life. They also reflect our strategic vision for the next decade. This vision encompasses priorities to enhance the quality of life for the NJIT community, including increasing student satisfaction, becoming nationally recognized for attracting high-achieving students from diverse national and international backgrounds, developing a core of nationally prominent academic programs, and continuing to rise in rankings for research and commercialization of intellectual property. Be sure to visit the NJIT Website regularly for updates on progress in these and other key areas.

It is my hope that every member of the NJIT community will be an enthusiastic partner in the exhilarating venture of achieving our vision for the future. There will be challenges along the way -- like trying to find a parking space at times due to construction activity around the campus. But our way forward is clearly toward the myriad possibilities that education and research in science and technology offer to each of us as individuals, as well as to society. It is also my hope that sharing the increasingly vibrant life of our campus will lead every graduate to value a life-long bond with NJIT as alumni.

I look forward to meeting you on campus and seeing you at the various campus events through the year.